Diamond Ace: Another Story of Sawamura

Chapter 143: The Battle of Xibang

"Batter is out! Attack and defense switch!"

Masuko was caught out by a fly ball for no apparent reason, and the referee's announcement spread...

"Good catch!"

"Niwa! Good shot!"

"Yes!" Niwa made a small bow pull.

But Qingdao is a bit quiet...

"What's going on?"

Back in the rest area, everyone asked Zengzi questions in confusion.

"..." Facing everyone's questions, Zengzi couldn't think of how to answer for a moment, "I didn't feel anything wrong just now..."

"The ball path is indeed not as tricky as I imagined..." Yuki returned to the rest area and expressed his feelings about the hit.

"..." But he was walked to first base, which was somewhat unconvincing.

"That's very strange..." Ryosuke narrowed his eyes slightly. Although he was also puzzled, he felt that Xibang's pitcher and catcher must have done something.

He really seemed like an ordinary pitcher, but after all, he was a pitcher for a championship candidate team, so he must have some outstanding qualities.

"Anyway..." Kataoka reminded the players while they were still thinking about Nishibon's pitch.

"It's our turn to defend now. You can't let your guard down. Focus on defense first!"

"Yes!"

"Tamba..." As the players were about to go on stage, Kataoka looked at Tamba and solemnly told him, "As an ace, you must set a good example for the younger players."

"Tamba, go for it!" Minister Ota also cheered for Tamba from behind.

"Supervisor..." Danbo heard the serious tone in the supervisor's words and looked at him solemnly, "This is our last summer in the third grade. I won't leave myself any regrets!"

"..." After getting an answer that satisfied himself and everyone else, Kataoka couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.

"Don't hesitate, don't be careless, and don't underestimate the enemy. Go and defeat the enemy in front of you!"

"Oh oh oh!"

'We're going to go higher!'

On the other side, Xibang High School on the third base side was also conducting an attack.

"He's an ace pitcher..." Coach Nishidera Go showed an expected expression.

Because he showed his ace status in the previous game and his performance was remarkable, he was made the starter in this game.

"Sure enough, this is the decision that a young former ace supervisor would make..."

"The so-called pride of the ace..."

"You know what to do, right? Show our team's usual style!"

"Oh oh oh!"

"We are the ones who will stand at the top!"

"Not the fastball pitcher from before!"

"I only watched it live on TV before, and I want to come and see it in person..."

"He is so handsome!"

"But since it's an ace, it should be very strong, right?"

"Seidou's ace has played before... his performance was also remarkable."

The person standing on the pitcher's mound was not the one I expected, and the discussions in the audience were also different, but overall there were still high expectations.

"Damba..."

After trying a few pitches, Chris walked onto the pitcher's mound.

"..." Danbo looked at Chris raising his gloves. After a moment of hesitation, he raised his own gloves to touch his hands, "Go ahead!"

In the bottom of the first inning, it was Seiho's turn to attack Seidou's defense, and both sides were ready.

Xibang came on the field to fight against...

"First batter, third baseman, Nohara."

First ball...

"Qiang!"

"First pitch, a curveball that hits the inside corner!"

"Left fielder!"

For a moment, both Danbo and Chris were shocked and threw out their sticks without hesitation.

Chris threw a curveball as the first pitch, hoping to see how Danbo pitched. Although the pitch wasn't as good as when he was at his best, it wasn't that easy to hit either.

"Landed!"

"Okay!"

The baseball flew over Kuramochi's glove and out of the infield. Even though Sakai ran forward desperately, the ball still landed in the outfield.

By the time the defense caught the ball, the runner was already on first base.

"Let the first batter get on base! Qingdao is in crisis right from the start!"

"Aaaaah~ First goal!" It couldn't be any worse, and Minister Ota's silent wailing was clearly visible on his face.

"..." Supervisor Kataoka also frowned.

"Did he aim for a curveball..." Miyuki frowned seriously. His swing just now was too bold and hesitant. 'Should I give it a try...'

Chris looked at the runner standing on first base, then tapped the ground a few times to attract Danbo's attention, "Focus on the batter first, and leave the runner to me."

It is hard to guess what tactics the other party has. If we make unnecessary attempts, we may end up playing into the other party's hands.

The important thing is not to let the other party control the rhythm, nor to let the rhythm follow the other party.

"Keep calm, throw the first ball to the outside corner, it doesn't matter if it's a bad ball."

"..." Danbo tried his best not to care about the runners. It was no problem to leave it to Chris. He just had to deal with the batters seriously.

As he raised his leg and took a step, the baseball was in front of the home plate in the blink of an eye. When it approached the batter, the batter stepped back to avoid the ball.

"Snapped!"

"Bad ball!"

'Second ball, throw it here and keep the ball as low as possible!'

"call out!"

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

"On the second pitch, the batter swung and missed!"

'Next, throw it to the outside corner, and make sure the ball is tricky! '

"Hush!"

Chris passed the ball quickly, and Danbo tried his best to maintain his own rhythm and throw the ball with all his strength.

"Qiang!"

"I actually followed this kind of ball..."

The baseball flew between second and third base at a clever position, and Masuko was unable to react in time and let the ball hit the ground.

As the ball flew towards the outfield again, a figure suddenly jumped out, pounced on the bouncing ball, and the ball was accurately put into the glove.

"Liangsang!"

Ryosuke quickly stood up and passed the ball to Kuramochi who had already reached second base.

The baseball barely paused as the runner slid into Kuramochi's glove and flew toward first base.

"Varied..."

"Snapped!"

Yuki stepped on the base and stretched out his glove, catching the pass with just one step to go.

"Oh oh oh!"

"Double kill?!"

"Amazing!"

“What a nimble move!”

"Generally speaking...the ball should go through!"

"I see... their defense is great too." Coach Nishidera said to the players leaving the field that it was okay, and then looked towards the Qingdao rest area, "Mr. Kataoka... you have indeed built a very strong team."

"Great!!!" Having successfully resolved the crisis, Minister Ota shouted excitedly.

"They all responded to the challenge very calmly..." Miyuki couldn't help but admire, "Especially Tanba-senpai, he is really motivated..."

"Huh..." The next batter to face is the center field batter. Tamba did not relax at all before pitching, while adjusting his mentality.

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

"Fight it out!"

"Sibang! Sibang!"

Chris wanted to get this elimination, and it would be somewhat risky to face Sano here.

'Next ball, throw it over here!'

"Huh..." Danbo nodded, concentrating on Chris's secret code.

He failed to perform at his best from the start and failed to demonstrate his dominance on the court as a ace.

He trusts Chris's ball handling and has no objections.

"I am standing here as the trump card!"

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

"Batter is out! Attack and defense switch!"

"Hahahhh!" Danbo couldn't help but yell at this moment.

"Oh oh oh!"

"Roaring..."

"Asshole!" Isashiki ran back to the rest area angrily, but he also cheered for Tamba, "Good shot!"

"Tamba! Good shot!"

"Tamba! Very good! You are very welcome!"

"That was a great pitch!" Ryosuke ran over to Tamba, smiling as always, "But the first pitch was terrible..."

"Ugh!" Danbo was instantly poisoned and gritted his teeth unwillingly.

"You must perform well next time. I believe you will be fine." While switching between offense and defense, coach Xisi Township was also adjusting the players' mentality.

"Don't worry, Supervisor." Zi replied calmly, indicating that he knew what to do.

"Well, Niwa, you have to listen to Zi's instructions carefully."

"I know, Director." Niwa was not dissatisfied because the director preferred Zi.

Although they are at the same level, Zi is better in terms of overall view. Even Sato has to listen to Zi on the court.

He still has this self-awareness...

In the top of the second inning, Qingdao was the first batter to come to bat.

"Sixth batter, Chris."

There was nothing wrong with the pitch, and the batter was caught inexplicably. The difference in pitch speed should not be the only difference.

"Could it be a pitcher with a quirk like Eijun..."

Chris quickly denied this guess. If it was a weird ball, they would have seen it long ago.

"I have to find something during this fight... something that can't be seen in the video..."

What he didn't know was that the catcher, who was squatting behind home plate, was staring at him with sharp eyes.

First ball...

"Qiang!"

Chris hit the slow ball high to the outside corner without hesitation.

The hit baseball passed through the infield defense in an instant and landed near the third base outfield line, but unfortunately it was in the wrong place.

"Foul ball!"

“It’s also the first ball!”

“This swing is amazing!”

"Pity!"

"..." In contrast to the exclamations of the audience, Chris frowned. The ball was indeed not as tricky as imagined...

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

The second pitch came towards the inside corner, which is the most difficult spot to swing at, and Chris was immediately chased.

"Qiang!"

"Foul ball!"

“……”After taking a look at the batter who was unaware that he had stepped into the trap, Zi immediately gave the next signal.

"Niwa, chase the hitter!"